Pregame Showalter (and Lee update)

SARASOTA, Fla. - First baseman Derrek Lee took batting practice outdoors and said his right wrist felt fine. He isn’t sure about tomorrow’s schedule, however. He’ll see how the wrist responds overnight. He could take live BP again or possibly make his Orioles debut.

Also, the Orioles aren’t currently interested in second baseman Luis Castillo, released earlier today by the Mets.

Here are a few comments from manager Buck Showalter, which were delivered while the Orioles took batting practice.

“Koji will take a work day tomorrow and then we’ll probably get an idea about him getting in a game after that. Tatum’s resuming full baseball activities today. And Duchscherer threw out to 120-130 feet and felt really good, so we’ll probably reconvene after BP and figure out what the next step is for him. And Kevin Gregg threw two innings over at Twin Lakes.”

On Duchscherer saying he’s still aiming for the opener:
“I’m not going to throw water over that right now. I think we’ll start looking at it more realistically timeframe-wise when we can get him back on the hill. It’s going to be tough, but I wouldn’t preclude that from happening if he feels that way. I appreciate the want-to part of it.”

On how he spent part of his morning:
“Got to spend a little time with Earl (Weaver). He’s coming in tomorrow to speak with the staff. I was tardy because we had a meeting with Joe Torre with the commissioner’s office, as far as umpires and other points of emphasis this year. Very productive.”

On enjoying his time with both former managers:
“Without a doubt. Are you kidding me? The level of respect for them, I’m like a kid in a toy store. I wish I had more time to spend with both of them. I’m going to make more time tomorrow with Earl. We’re all looking forward to it. Keep in mind when you look at Willie Randolph, he’s been involved in 11 World Series. Eleven. Eleven. That’s unbelievable.”

On what made Weaver so good:
“He will say good players, but you always had the feeling he could take his and beat yours, and take yours and beat his. But as much as you heard about the three-run homer, he knew how important pitching and defense were. That was really one of the cornerstones of all those clubs. I always admired them from afar because of those two facets. And being on the Yankees, I got to see their clubs play a lot. He’d be the first to tell you that some things have changed. Ask me more about it tomorrow. I think he’s looking forward to it as much as we are. Surprised me showing up today. It kind of made me think that he was getting a feel for the venue. Where am I speaking and who am I speaking to?’ He wanted to know what was coming. I thought that was revealing. “

On how his young starters have produced so far:
“OK, OK. I’m looking forward to them kind of locking it in a little bit. Some of the things they’ve been kind of tweaking and experimenting with. It’s normal for spring training, but because they’re younger, they want to try things to be perfect. I welcome that. But I think as you see, say, the post off-day, which would be the 22nd, I think you’ll see, ‘OK, I’ve looked at everything and here’s what I’m going with.’ The difference with them is they don’t have a long-term track record of success, so that creates a little bit of, in some people’s minds, what are we going to get? If (Mike) Mussina’s healthy and he’s down there with a 7.00 ERA, I don’t think anybody’s in a state of panic. They could all have zero ERA’s down there and we’d still have that ‘what if?’ I’m just as curious as the fans are to find out. And we’re going to find out. That’s the beauty of it. Not all of them are going to get rained out. We’re going to play some games.”